I am a retired LLLL from Austin (hi to Barbara W-C, Jeanne Fisher, Cathy
Liles!) and now a confirmed LL (LACTNET Lurker) in the Houston area.
I'm enticed out of lurkdom to tell my "bf while pregnant" stories.  Our
sixth baby was born in April.  I have bf into 5 pregnancies (obviously
not the first!) and have tandem nursed 4 pairs.  The following answers
reflect my experience, and are consistent with many others I've spoken
with.

*  When does the mature milk dry up?
Mid pregnancy, about 5 months.

*  When does the colostrom come in, and how soon after the mature milk
drys up?
About 7-8 months, and in quantities similar to mature milk (supply &
demand).

*  Will some kids BF even when there isn't any milk?  (We hope!)
You betcha!  But this is moderately uncomfortable for some moms, bfing
with no milk, kind of a mangled wrung-out feeling.

*  Will toddler taking colostrom possibly cause mature milk to come in
before the birth of the baby? (Or is the body smarter than that?)
Aren't we designed marvelously?  Our bodies meet the needs of the most
vulnerable person.  Each time for me, colustrum lasted 2-3 days after
birth before the appearance of mature milk.

*  Can you answer any questions I might have that I didn't put down
here?
Older nurslings have "windows" of weaning when milk disappears, then
again when colostrum appears (unfamiliar taste?).

I am not aware of any studies of the composition of milk in tandem
nursing situations, but each time our nursing toddlers really seemed to
plump up while on a diet of colostrum/newborn milk.  On the other hand,
they were all about the same age so maybe this was related more to age
than to diet.

Barbara W-C, are you still collecting galactocele stories?  While in
Austin I had a large (~5cm) lump suddenly appear about 2 months pp.  I
suspected galactocele, but went to our FP who was concerned about size,
firmness, and moveability of the lump.  He associated those conditions
w/ cancer, but was reassured by its sudden development, which he felt
was too fast for the big C.  When I asked, he said he had never seen a
galactocele.  I went down for mammogram & sonogram.  The mammogram was
of course non-diagnostic - polar bear in a snowstorm.  They never found
that lump on the sonogram, but did find others (non-palpable) looking
like galactoceles.  Apparently the radiologist hadn't seen galactoceles
either -- he brought out his textbook pictures and asked me what I
thought!  With no particular treatment, the big lump resolved in about a
week down to a thickening which I had about a month.

Final story: Until his untimely death earlier this year, I had a brother
who was a trauma surgeon at Hermann Hospital here in Houston (worked
with Dr. "Red" Duke).  His wife called me one day suspecting a plugged
duct.  My brother had left her that morning very concerned about her
"breast lump", and was astonished by her "miraculous" cure (brought
about by standard management).  He said, "We have these come into the
emergency room all the time."  I asked him what they did in those cases,
and he said (everybody sit down -- ), "We cut them out."  But as a
result of his wife's experience, they changed their practice....

~~ Nancy Penney
Hot in Houston